Virgiliano Park, flagship of Posillipo

About this activity

The Virgilian Park is a small green lung located on the Posillipo hill 150 m above sea level.

Its 92,000-square-meter terraced structure includes trees and plants of different species and numerous viewpoints from which to admire the entire Bay of Naples.

It was built during Year XI of the Fascist twenty-year period and opened in 1931 as Victory or Beauty Park. It was later named Park of Remembrance to commemorate the fallen soldiers of the Great War and finally assumed the name Virgilian Park in honor of the Latin poet.

Why visit the Virgilian Park

The park has a "horseshoe" shape so it is easy to walk through it in its entirety and , thanks to its various viewpoints, one can ecstatically observe and admire the entire Gulf of Naples.

From the widening at the entrance follows a wide tufa road on the right, interspersed with numerous meadows where Maritime Pine trees grow. The road is bordered by railings and low walls from which one can look out from the high tuffaceous walls overhanging the sea and lose oneself in the vastness of the panorama accompanied by the flight of the seagulls that nest there. On the path, at the viewpoints, there are benches where one can rest and from time to time, small kiosks for refreshment or meeting friends.

There is also an amphitheater in the park, built in the 1970s, which still hosts concerts and theater performances. In the center of the garden, hidden from the gaze of visitors and tourists, there is also a large sports facility consisting of an athletic track and a soccer field. Finally, near the entrance there is a play area equipped for children.

A garden from which to observe the panorama of Naples

This is definitely one of the best places from which to observe the panorama of Naples. Indeed, from the terraces of the Virgiliano Park, thanks to its strategic location on the Posillipo promontory, one can enjoy a 360-degree panorama.

Behind the park, you can see the Phlegrean Peninsula with its Phlegraean Fields, Coroglio, the Isle of Nisida until Cape Miseno.

Further on, however, the islands of Capri, Ischia and Procida. Finally, from Mount of Procida, the gaze can be pushed from the Vesuvius to the entire Sorrento Peninsula to the Trentaremi Bay, even reaching the Historic Center of Naples.

All this is included in the park, which also consists of various green areas of holm oaks, olive trees, downy oaks, myrtle, rosemary, phillyrea but also rose bushes that enrich the garden with colors and scents.

The most important things to know about Virgilian Park

The Virgilian Park possesses two entrances. The main one, located at the end of Virgil Avenue, is a monumental entrance consisting of a gate and four pillars surmounted by amphorae. In front of this is a fountain that collects water by means of a channel through the mountain. The second entrance, on the other hand, located on Tito Lucrezio Caro Avenue, includes an area known as the Valley of the Kings, and it is the highest point in the park so the most extensive of the park's views can be observed there.

Curiosities about Virgiliano Park

In the Augustan age, because of the beauty of this area and its breathtaking views, the Romans built luxurious villas, including the richest one in Pollione.

After its construction in the 20th century, the park suffered a long period of neglect and decay until 1997, when substantial redevelopment work began. With this work, subdivisions within the park were eliminated, paved roads were replaced by new paving in favor of vegetation. Pre-existing tree species were restored and safeguarded, and a lighting system was also modernized.

Big change that made it the park we know today was the closing of access to cars.

Recently the Virgiliano was chosen as part of a municipal program, "the literary park," as a symbol of the Grand Tour of the 18th century. The views will therefore be accompanied by the descriptions of the most important travelers of the past, enriching the breathtaking views with sensations and emotions of other times.